My School is Changing the Farm Industry in America

Trading homework for fieldwork.

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Peter Kane is finishing his fourth year of college. But instead of studying a branch of business, science, or engineering, he's taking what I would say captures the essence of all three. The bachelors in science degree in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, a mouthful to say, but a tasty one at that. Broken into parts, it's the study of farming practices whose ratios are higher in yield than in waste. Sounds less painful than writing a twenty page thesis, even altruistic, I thought. Standing next to Kane, watching as the sun faded into dusk, cradling a ruby red strawberry in the palm of my hand, the grass blowing softly in the breeze, everything felt picturesque. But there was something else I saw, something in all the looks of students I spoke to at the farm: a look of trouble, a look that said the system must change. If our nation wants to improve socioeconomic factors, pollution, and our health as a whole, then we need to start at the source.

Ellen Gibbs

Is the Grass Really Greener?

Instead of walking away with a sense of victor and hope, I felt the weight of our nation's inadequate efforts on my shoulders. Yes I compost. Yes I garden. Yes I buy organic and regional (when I can). However many small attempts, I'm just one person, and one person isn't enough in this case. It takes a village, literally. Don't be deceived by the labeling of mainstream grocers. Twenty-first century agriculture no longer looks like the image portrayed on a Country Crock tub of butter or a bag of Pepperidge Farm Cheddar Goldfish. Unfortunately, with factory farms becoming the new norm, and government lending tax payers' dollars to those farms in forms of subsidies, we get a ridiculous amount of food that's inexpensive, and whatever isn't sold amounts to waste. That's where the problem lies, and that's where people like Kane come in.

Ellen Gibbs

Kane and I are standing before rows of lettuce. Kane is barefoot, chewing on some kind of root meant to freshen your breath, and has his dreads pulled back in a bun, taking the term business casual to a whole new level. Before Kane even spoke, I knew he was destined for this type of work. That's why he's the first undergrad to ever be given the position of farm manager.

Ellen Gibbs

Concerns Kane deals with on a day-to-day basis include finding out how small business agriculture can still thrive in an economy that's dominated by industrial, factory farms. He recalled a story from his youth working for a local farm in his hometown. They had grown a surplus of asparagus and, "didn't have any place lined-up to sell it to." Unfortunately, when they'd go around trying to make a deal, the response was bleak: most already had orders from vendors to supply their business. "You can be really good at growing stuff, but if you don't have a solid market, or a solid income based on that market, you're not going to survive" in a market governed by industrial agriculture.

Ellen Gibbs

The Future of Farming

For right now, the ideals in sustainable agriculture remain up in the air. Kane wants to see small farms "minimize [their] farm inputs, saving seed on [their] own, and proper soil management" in a way to conserve energy and expenses. "One of the things that bothers me is that, it's beneficial for a farmer to go organic for the market premium, but that market premium excludes people who are underserved, generally, from having access to that, and those are the people who really need access to [produce.]" Makes sense, considering that's where a majority of Americans currently rest. Going on to say, "it should be taken on by the community and the individual, just learning to grow a few simple things on your own is really fun, really empowering, and if we could help people regain that connection with their food, because that's what has really been lost."